英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

decession (n.)[decession 词源字典]: c. 1600, from Latin decessionem, noun of action from past participle stem of decedere "to go down, depart" (see decease (n.)).[decession etymology, decession origin, 英语词源]
deci-: in the metric system, word-forming element denoting weights of one-tenth of the standard unit of measure, 1801, from French deci-, taken arbitrarily from Latin decimus "tenth," from decem "ten" (see ten).
decibel (n.): 1928, from deci- + bel (n.).
Progress in science and industry is constantly demanding new terms and one of the latest of these is the word "decibel," coined by telephone engineers to describe the efficiency of telephone circuits. It is a substitute for the phrase "transmission unit." The actual unit decided upon was first called "bel," after the inventor of the telephone. The bel, however, is larger than is needed in practice, and, therefore, a unit one-tenth as large was adopted by engineers and named the decibel. ["Popular Mechanics," May 1929]
decide (v.): late 14c., "to settle a dispute," from Old French decider, from Latin decidere "to decide, determine," literally "to cut off," from de- "off" (see de-) + caedere "to cut" (see -cide). For Latin vowel change, see acquisition. Sense is of resolving difficulties "at a stroke." Meaning "to make up one's mind" is attested from 1830. Related: Decided; deciding.
decided (adj.): "resolute," 1790, past participle adjective from decide. A decided victory is one whose reality is not in doubt; a decisive one goes far toward settling some issue. Related: Decidedly.
deciduous (adj.): 1680s, from Latin deciduus "that which falls off," from decidere "to fall off," from de- "down" (see de-) + cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). Originally with reference to leaves, petals, teeth, etc.; specific sense of "trees whose leaves fall off" (opposed to evergreen) is from 1778.
decile (adj.): 1670s in astrology; 1882 in statistics; from French décile or Medieval Latin *decilis, from Latin decem "ten" (see ten) on the model of quintilis, sextilis.
decimal (adj.): c. 1600, from Medeival Latin decimalis "of tithes or tenths," from Latin decimus "tenth," from decem "ten" (see ten). Applied to Arabic notation before modern sense of "decimal fractions" emerged. As a noun from 1640s.
decimate (v.): c. 1600, in reference to the practice of punishing mutinous military units by capital execution of one in every 10, by lot; from Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare (see decimation). Killing one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious city or a mutinous army was a common punishment in classical times. The word has been used (incorrectly, to the irritation of pedants) since 1660s for "destroy a large portion of." Related: Decimated; decimating.
decimation (n.): mid-15c., from Late Latin decimationem (nominative decimatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin decimare "the removal or destruction of one-tenth," from decem "ten" (see ten). Earliest sense in English was of a tithe; punishment sense is from 1580s; transferred sense of "much destruction, severe loss" recorded from 1680s.
decimeter (n.): 1809, from deci- + meter (n.2).
decipher (v.): 1520s, from de- + cipher. Perhaps in part a loan-translation from Middle French déchiffrer. Related: Deciphered; deciphering.
decision (n.): mid-15c., from Middle French décision (14c.), from Latin decisionem (nominative decisio) "a decision, settlement, agreement," noun of action from past participle stem of decidere (see decide). Decision making (adjective, also decision-making) is recorded from 1953.
decisive (adj.): 1610s, from Medieval Latin decisivus, from Latin decis-, past participle stem of decidere (see decide). Related: Decisively; decisiveness.
deck (n.): "covering over part of a ship," mid-15c., perhaps a shortening of Middle Low German verdeck (or a related North Sea Germanic word), a nautical word, from ver- "fore" + decken "to cover, put under roof," from Proto-Germanic *thakjan (related to thatch, q.v.).

Sense extended early in English from "covering" to "platform of a ship." "Pack of cards" is 1590s, perhaps because they were stacked like decks of a ship. Deck chair (1884) so called because they were used on ocean liners. Tape deck (1949) is in reference to the flat surface of old reel-to-reel tape recorders.
deck (v.2): "knock down," c. 1953, probably from deck (n.) on the notion of laying someone out on the deck. Related: Decked; decking.
deck (v.1): "adorn" (as in deck the halls), early 15c., from Middle Dutch dekken "to cover," from the same Germanic root as deck (n.). Meaning "to cover" is from 1510s in English. Replaced Old English þeccan. Related: Decked; decking.
deckhand (n.): 1844, American English, from deck (n.) + hand (n.).
deckle (n.): 1810, in paper-making, from German deckel "lid, little cover," diminutive of decke "cover" (see deck (n.)).
declaim (v.): late 14c., from Middle French déclamer and directly from Latin declamare "to practice public speaking, to bluster," from de- intensive prefix + clamare "to cry, shout" (see claim (v.)). At first in English spelled declame, but altered under influence of claim. Related: Declaimed; declaiming.